The Oxbow Cure is
reminiscent of some Bergman dramas (
The
Passion of Anna): the characters retreat to a remote location, private
fears are openly discussed, and the heavy existential themes are represented visually
through the harsh weather.
It’s about a woman Lena, who has a spinal injury, and she
leaves the city for a remote cottage, to treat her illness. There she starts a
routine that includes exercises, walks, and cooking. She’s in touch with her
father, who is hospitalized, and is dying. One night, she hears barking; following
the noise she finds a trapped dog that she rescues.
The performance by Claudia Dey is exceptional; appearing
both vulnerable and persistent as she treats her illness, and fearless as she
walks through the forest. These scenes are filmed with a hand-held camera, and
are both frightening and elegiac. The noises are especially harrowing as
natural sounds, like, snow crunching and wind blowing, are reminders of Lena’s
fragility. And the score by Lev Lewis goes from orchestral piano and strings to
a P.J. Proby songs.
The Oxbow Cure is
Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ follow up to Amy George, which is suburb drama about a teenager with a crush on
a next-door neighbor. It might appear like a grand departure, but there are still
some similarities. In Amy George
Jesse has a photography assignment, and The
Oxbow Cure begins with Lena taking pictures at the cottage. The walks
through the woods in Amy George are
heightened a ten-fold in The Oxbow Cure.
And similar to how Jesse was seduced by Amy in Amy George, there is a beckoning in The Oxbow Cure that needs to be seen to be believed.
I’m not going to spoil any more of its mysteries. I’ll just
say that The Oxbow Cure goes into
some unexpected territory, gains in ambience from a theatrical setting, and
richness through multiple viewings. What are these bold filmmakers going to do next?
